


A Trickster, an Ex-Thief, a Queen and her Royal Advisor

by normcorearthoe



Category: Descendants (2015)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Trans Character, and trans chad but fuck chad tbh hes an ass, and trans evieeeeee, angst maybe, but hes a trans ass, but the transness isnt the focus, lotsa crazy shit, romantic tension alll up in here too, transsss carlosssss, trickster au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2016-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-15 10:06:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4602681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/normcorearthoe/pseuds/normcorearthoe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Cruella had made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin for a chance to get off the Isle of the lost? What would she trade? Her firstborn, of course.</p><p>It's been five years since the events of Descendants, and Ben has been missing for a year. What will Jay, Evie and Mal do when a scruffy newcomer appears, claiming to have information on the King but hiding a dark past?</p><p>(Big, gay, angsty fantasy adventure)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a/n: hey guys! sorry if the beginning's a little bit slow. next chapter we'll get some backstory and have a little more fun :D (also, kudos and comments make the world go 'round! i love hearing stuff and if i misspell I'd also like to know. i have a master plan for this fic but if there's small moments that are more ship-related you want to see i might be able to add them in! the struggle of being a descendants fan is super real and finding good shippy stuff is hard when there's not many of us, part of the reason i started this was because i'd already read all the fics i could find!)

PROLOGUE

The old house was disgusting. Cruella De Vil walked in slowly, carefully, stepping over a pile of of rotten food. She couldn’t trip now, she was carrying precious cargo. Not precious because she cared about it, of course. Precious because she knew she could trade it for something huge. She cleared her throat. “RUMPELSTILTSKIN!” Her demanding shriek rang out through the dilapidated shack. Cruella heard a noise from one of the other rooms, someone groaning as they were woken up after a long night of drinking. A small, wiry man walked into the room where she waited. 

He looked at her with brassy eyes. “You called? His voice was smooth and inquiring. Cruella could tell he was turning up the charm. She was sick of charm, look where charm got her. Then again, charm got her valuable, tradeable goods. Maleficent would be proud, proud of her cruelty, her lack of care, and happy that there wouldn’t be another brat crawling around. Not to mention ecstatic to have another chance at revenge. 

“Yes, I did. I want a deal.” A smirk from Rumpelstiltskin. “What do you want?” She knew what she wanted. She wanted it with everything she had, desperate for those stupid dogs. For that stupid coat. It consumed her. “I want a chance off of this godforsaken island, a chance for revenge. For me and my three…” Not friends, never friends, “associates.” “I can do that. Maybe. Either way, you know what it costs.” He glanced at her stomach with a smirk. “Seems like you have what I want, of course.” Cruella nodded. “The moment it’s born, it’s yours.” The trickster smiled. “Excellent.” 

Cruella De Vil walked out of Rumpelstiltskin’s house that day with thousands of plots running through her head. Of course, none would work, not until fourteen years later when her associates’ children would be driven off the Isle of the Lost in a shiny black limousine by invitation of the soon-to-be king. Of course, that wasn’t really going to work out for her either. But she wasn’t thinking about that, nor did she spare a single thought in the years to come about the child she would soon be giving away to a madman.

\----------

19 YEARS LATER

“Mal.” Mal blinked slowly, sitting up in her warm bed. “Good morning.” Mal was startled for a moment, glancing over to her side. She relaxed when she saw her friend and royal advisor sitting up next to her, smiling serenely. “Good morning,” responded Mal. “You okay?” Evie nodded, pushing her navy hair out of her face. “Yeah. Are you feeling better?” Mal nodded back. Yesterday had been the first anniversary of Ben’s disappearance. Hope had been given up months ago, but Mal still cried as she had many times before, and Evie comforted her as best she could, gently rubbing her back and playing with her hair and softly singing her to sleep. Mal still wasn’t used to a lack of warmth next to her, so Evie stayed the night.

“Ready to do your queenly duties?” Evie asked, looking Mal over one more time to make sure she really was ok. “Yeah, let’s get to it. What’s on the agenda today?” Mal smiled and it was barely forced. “First off, we have breakfast with Jay, as usual,” said Evie. Mal nodded. Good. Jay could always lift her mood. “Then we have to talk to Lonnie about the banquet next month, and Jane about getting bird feed for the aviary, and afterwards you’ll have the rest of the day free!” Evie finished, grinning. “I’m thinking a little croquet, maybe some movies?” Mal grinned back, pushing the negative thoughts away and feeling positive about the upcoming day. “Sounds perfect.” Of course, before breakfast, Evie insisted on doing Mal’s makeup. Mal humored her.

\----------

Jay was, as usual, not very quick getting up. He sat in his bed for a while, wrapped in yellow silk sheets and a blue comforter even though it was warm out. He had had evening watch the night before, and had only slept a few hours. He didn’t mind. If watch hadn’t exhausted him he might not have slept at all, not yesterday. 

He didn’t try to think about it. He missed Ben, a lot, and he would forever probably, but he had Mal and he had Evie and he still had his old coach if he needed to talk to someone with life experience, and he was feeling okay, if a little tired and a little more lonely than usual. Whatever, he thought. Stay positive, stay positive, stay positive. Today might be a great day. Maybe something good would happen.

\----------

 

Fucking finally. After days upon nights of walking, after sleeping in trees and stealing scraps from strangers, he had arrived. Carlos looked up at the tremendous gate apprehensively. He knew the Queen lived in a castle, because, duh, queens tend to do so, but he’d never really seen a castle like the one before him. It was more like a small city, with too many towers and windows to count. He’d have to go in, though. It was his only hope, plus maybe a chance at a life that would be a lot less shitty. Smile, smile, can’t let them know you’re a scared little kid who hasn’t slept in two days, he told himself nervously. So he put on a confident face and a mischievous swagger before walking through the gateway, going up to the nearest guard, and saying (very confidently, he thought), “The King is alive, and I know where he is.”

\----------

Mal wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with more false hope, not after she had already given up. She sat in Ben’s throne, Evie taking Mal’s usual seat. Mal scowled at the boy in front of her. It wasn’t exactly that she expected him to lie. Since coming the Auradon, she had learned that it was safe to trust people as a first instinct, but on the Isle of the Lost everyone lied and with his dirty leather jacket and trickster’s eyes this boy looked like an Islander. Not to mention he’d interrupted breakfast with Evie and Jay, which had been making her feel much better than she had yesterday.

“So. What do you know?” She asked in a cool voice. “I know that the king is alive, and where he is, and the best part is I’ll tell you where for a small fee!” Well, he sure was cocky. “How do I know you’re telling the truth?” The boy held out his hand, offering up a small gold cufflink. “This is his, right?” Mal’s eyes widened, and she heard Evie gasp. The item was more than familiar, but could it really be his? Jay stepped forward to collect it, his face unreadable.

Carlos gulped as the (very) tall and (very) muscular young man walked up to him, taking the cufflink from his palm. He locked eyes with Carlos for a moment. Carlos couldn’t read his eyes, but he could feel distrust emanating from him (just saying, you don’t grow up a deal maker’s son without developing a strong intuition among other things). Carlos saw shock flash in his eyes as he recognised the small beast with a crown engraved on the trinket. The distrust changed to hope, and as he glanced up at Carlos again there was a tinge of curiosity. Carlos smiled charmingly at him. This was good. The young man brought the ring back up to the Queen and the lady next to her. They both recognised the cufflink’s engraving as well.

“How do we know you can be trusted? You are a trickster after all, right?” “Something like that.” Carlos grinned. “And, well, you don’t have a choice, do you? If you want him to live, I mean.” He hated to manipulate like that, to be like his dad, but he was desperate. If he didn’t get what he wanted he’d have to go back, and again, he thought, he really didn’t feel like dying. And it was true, after all. The king wasn’t being kept in the best conditions.

The Queen’s expression revealed a decision being made. She looked at him. “What do you want in exchange for your information?” Okay, good. Deal time. Carlos thought for a moment. He knew he needed a safe place to stay, but what if his dad still came looking for him? He needed protection. Sorry, man, Carlos silently apologized to the young man standing next to the queen. 

“Weeeeelll,” he said, taking his time to seem like he had all the time in the world as well as the upper hand instead of being the powerless runaway he was, “I moved out of my place recently. Ogres make pretty shitty landlords, ya feel?” He laughed like he was being hilarious. They didn’t laugh, so he continued. “So I’d like a room here, because may I say, this place is lovely.” He smiled at the Queen. “Aaaand since I’ve been really rather lonely lately and wouldn’t mind a servant to keep me company, I’d also like…-” He pretended to look around the room- “Him.” He pointed to the young man. 

“No!” The Queen shook her head angrily. “I can’t just give you a human being like an object in return for this. There must be something else you want, a sum of money or-” “Wait.” The young man spoke for the first time. “Jay-” The Queen interjected. “Mal, please. Ben was- he was my friend. We all cared about him, and if it hadn’t been for him we’d still be on the Isle. Evie would still be desperate to find a prince, and you’d still be trying to be good enough for your mom, and I’d still be stealing- and that is not how I want to live, ever again. If Ben’s out there, and this is what it takes to save him, doing chores for some random kid-” he looked at Carlos (who was not a kid, but in fact nineteen, so there)- “No offense, is a price I’m willing to pay. We owe- I owe Ben that much.” The young man looked at her patiently. 

Mal didn’t know how to respond. “Are you- are you sure?” Evie asked. Jay nodded. “Yeah, it’s fine. I mean, you’re not gonna try to kill me or anything, are you?” He looked at the trickster boy, who shrugged. “Um, I wasn’t planning on it?” “Then it’s fine,” Jay said, looking at Mal. “Right?” She looked back at him. “Fine.” Then she looked at the boy. “But if he gets hurt because of you, I don’t care about any deal. I will kill you myself.” She put extra power into her eyes, making them glow green. “Okay?” The trickster’s eyes widened. “O-okay. Ma’am.” Mal took all the power out of her eyes, smiling sweetly. “Oh, by the way, what should we call you?”

Carlos stared at the Queen, filled with both new respect and new fear. “Um- the trickster is fine, m-ma’am.” She smiled even sweeter, honey-sweet like a flytrap. “Excellent.” Why hadn’t Carlos realised? These were the Villain kids that his father had made such a big deal about when Carlos was fourteen. The Queen was Maleficent’s daughter, the lady next to her was the daughter of the Evil Queen. And Carlos had just made the son of Jafar his personal servant and bodyguard. He looked over at- what was his name- at Jay. Well, he had said before that he’d changed. Maybe this would be even better, maybe if they found out they’d understand that he needed a new life, that he needed redemption. Or maybe they would kill him on the spot. Yeah, Carlos was probably screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a/n: IT'S 2 AM, I'M LITERALLY FALLING ASLEEP RIGHT NOW, AND MY COMPUTER IS DYING, BUT CHAPTER TWO IS DONE! Just some backstory and our two protagonists slowly but surely getting to know each other :) I wonder who the mysterious lady Carlos keeps mentioning is? (and by the way, kudos warm my shriveled little heart!)

“Jay, feel free to take the Trickster and his things up to the East Wing. Any room is fine, as long as it has two beds,” said Mal. “We’ll discuss what to do next at dinner. Meanwhile, I’m going to pack.” Jay sighed internally. Moving all of his his stuff from his old room to a new room would be kind of a hassle, even though he didn’t have much. Not that it was a big deal, none of the rooms in the palace really felt like home anyways. “You got it,” he said to Mal, smiling to let her know it really was fine. He looked at the Trickster and motioned for him to follow Jay as he began walking. “Do you have any suitcases?” The Trickster looked sheepish and shook his head. “Kinda weird for someone who just moved out of their apartment to not have any bags.” The trickster gave him a look. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”

In all honesty, Carlos had shut the fuck down. He was pretty sure his hands were shaking a little bit, in fact, seeing as he’d just landed himself in a living situation with the kids of the three most dangerous villains in the entire world. Then again, considering what he’d recently learned, he should fit right in.

He thought back to the week before, when he’d stumbled in on his father, drunk. “Carlos, Carlos! Come sit with me.” Carlos cringed. His dad hadn’t been drinking heavily in over a year, not since… she came along, and brought the King with her. Torture and mutual plotting seemed to interest Rumpelstiltskin more than drinking and he’d been doing great since, so Carlos was surprised to even find him in such a state. Not to mention his dad was not the nicest when under the influence. Carlos could never tell if a friendly invitation truly was friendly or if it was dripping with poison and would end in a black eye or worse. He decided to sit, because if he turned away and left Rumpelstiltskin would get mad no matter what his mood was previously. They sat together, leaning against the wall in the dusty old shack.

“Did I ever tell you how I got you?” Carlos had always assumed it had something to do with magic, and shook his head no. “You were a deal. One of my best, in fact!” Rumpelstiltskin liked to brag, especially when drunk, but his pride truly got the best of him that night. Carlos sat, shocked. Rumpelstiltskin wasn’t his dad? The old trickster had never been very kind to Carlos, making him sleep on the floor in an unused room, yelling at him, and sporadically taking his rage out on the boy, who was a bit smaller than Rumple in stature. Carlos had still stayed, thinking he was obliged to be at his father’s side and scared of the and scared of the consequences leaving might have.

But, he’d thought to himself, there’s no obligation now. Still, this raised a very important question in Carlos’ head- the fact that, one, he might have a real, human mother, and that, two, she might be out somewhere in the world at that second, missing him. So, though he was scared to push the subject in case Rumpelstiltskin realised he was giving his captive a reason to run away and clam up, he tentatively asked the question burning a hole in his brain. “Who gave me to you?” 

Luckily, Rumpelstiltskin was too smashed to realise what he was doing. “Cruella De Vil, can you believe it?” he cackled. “She wanted a chance off of that horrible old island.” Carlos remembered the Isle of the Lost. He had lived in his father’s house, not able to leave except to scavenge the barge that visited the island to dump Auradon’s trash for valuables, until the barrier had been broken five years before by some girl for about ten minutes before being closed by the girl who was now Queen. Seizing the opprotunity, his father had taken Carlos and escaped, leaving everything behind including Carlos’ small collection of swiped books and bits of machines he enjoyed tinkering with that he’d kept hidden away. The move hadn’t made a big difference to Carlos, since he was just going to be stuck in another house day after day, watching his father do shady dealings. The only real difference was that now his father had his magic, and could create hexes and potions. The best part was that if the potion required more effort he would let Carlos play the part of an assistant. The worst part was that Carlos no longer had his books and machines, and that now there was a woman more terrifying than anyone he had ever met (and through his father he had met some very dark people) who brought an unfortunate young man with her.

“The best part is, it didn’t even work! But I still got to keep the baby!” Rumpelstiltskin continued, chortling like the cat that got the cream. He started mumbling and giggling to himself, lost in his own world. He didn’t even notice when Carlos got up and left, stopping to check in on the man his father was holding prisoner. King Ben. “Hey there,” he said softly, peering into the deep pit where the young King was being kept. Carlos heard a growl in response, and saw a pair of yellow eyes watching him steadily from the hole. Carlos hadn’t had a conversation with the young King in months, but back when he used to talk he would tell Carlos about his beautiful castle and his beautiful kingdom, and his wife who was more beautiful that the other two combined. Sometimes, he would ask Carlos to help him escape, but soon realised it would just scare the boy away. And after his father and that woman had put that spell on him, he’d stopped talking at all. Carlos wished he could let Ben go, but the plan he was forming in his head was already enough to get him killed, and he didn’t want to push it (and for all he knew, Ben might attack him the moment he was free. Carlos didn’t know what the spell had done, but something in Ben’s eyes definitely wasn’t human anymore). If all went well, the King would be saved anyway.

He’d walked carefully past the room where the terrible woman was sleeping. He tended to avoid her because he knew what she could do to a person. Then, he grabbed his jacket (his only one, and probably his most prized possession. It was red, and leather, and wearing it made him happy though he didn’t know why) and ran for it. He probably should have prepared more, but he was too busy planning how to find a safe place to hide from his father. And, of course, what kind of deal he’d need to make to stay there.

“And here we are!” Jay’s announcement snapped Carlos right back out of short term memory lane and back into the present. The tall young man was gesturing to a door that Carlos had followed him to while on autopilot, a big wooden door in a stone hallway filled with similar doors. “Oh. Right.” Carlos wasn’t sure what to expect. He’d only ever slept on the floor, but his father had a bedroom. Carlos hoped not everyone’s room was as dirty and rancid-smelling.

Jay swung the door open, stepping into the bedroom. It looked basically the same as his old room, with stone wall, large windows, a bookshelf with some classic fairytales, and a few nondescript watercolors of nature hung in various places. There was also an oak desk, a matching dresser, a few lamps, a body length mirror on the wall, and an average-sized bathroom off the the side. The only difference was that instead of one bed there were two, clothed with yellow silk sheets and blue blankets and fluffy blue down comforters, both piled high with pillows of various sizes. Jay looked over at the trickster and was somewhat shocked to recognize the expression on his face.

The boy looked almost awestruck. He looked like he’d never seen a bedroom before and was almost scared to walk into the room (Carlos was actually wondering if he was allowed to touch anything and if one of the beds was for him). “Um,” Jay started, “You coming in?” The trickster tentatively crossed the threshold and stood awkardly on the rug, eyeing the bed nearest to him. Jay understood how he felt, but was confused. He had had the same reaction to his dorm at Auradon Prep when he was sixteen, after leaving the Isle of the lost. Why did the trickster have the same face as Jay had had? He supposed he’d have to get it out of the boy later. In the meantime, he had to move all of his stuff into this room.

Jay looked at the trickster again, who still looked hesitant to touch anything. “Listen, dude, make yourself at home. I gotta move all of my clothes and stuff up here. Can you sit tight for a sec?” The trickster nodded. Jay left the room, wondering silently to himself what the strange boy was hiding.

Carlos was finally alone. He looked around, deciding after a minute to sit on the floor. He’d probably have to psych himself up to sleep in the bed at night so Jay wouldn’t think he was weird. Carlos was worried that if they realised he was lying about being a confident, powerful trickster, they’d think he was lying about everything else too. He couldn’t risk being kicked out. However, he assumed, sitting on the floor must be relatively normal. And so he did.

The fact that the room was his, and so was the bed and the bathroom and the desk (could he get a computer, he wanted one so bad- and, oh god look at all the books-) felt almost unreal after a life of sleeping on the floor and hiding his possessions. He’d known that it wasn’t normal, but he’d never considered living differently an actual possibility. His stomach growled. Right, fuck. He hadn’t eaten in two days, and he was starting to feel it. He’d never had much to eat, but he’d at least had some stale bread most days. What did royalty eat for dinner, he wondered, before his stomach complained again about the answers his brain supplied. He sat daydreaming about hamburgers and roast beef and ice cream until he heard a sound at the door.

Jay stood outside the door to his room, hands full with two bags of clothes he’d messily stuffed in. “Hey, um… Trickster? Can you get the door?” The boy opened the door for him before moving back to let Jay through. Jay busied himself by folding the shirts and pants and putting them in various dresser drawers until he noticed the trickster sitting on the ground. Jay turned to face him. “Why are you on the floor?” He looked sheepish. “The bed’s too fancy. Don’t want to, uh, mess it up.” Jay felt a twinge in his stomach. The bed was a standard twin size, and this room was one of the most average ones in the castle, honestly nothing special. Where had this kid been if he thought this room was too good for him?

Carlos could feel Jay staring at him. Shit. “You know what? Never mind. I’ll just sit on the bed,” he proclaimed, before getting up and sitting on the foot of the mattress. Oh, that was actually really nice. He let himself fall back, his legs hanging off of the end. “Shit, this is great,” he thought, not meaning to let it slip out but doing it anyway. Beds were great. His stomach growled loudly and he sat up again, face red.

Jay gave him a look before digging through one of his bags, coming up with a small candy wrapped in silver foil. “What’s this?” asked Carlos, eyeing the offending treat suspiciously. “Try it,” replied Jay, sitting on his own bed before nodding at Carlos expectantly. Carlos unwrapped the foil before taking a bit out of the brown candy. Holy. Fuck. Carlos was pretty sure he audibly moaned, but he had never tasted anything so good in his life. He glanced at Jay. “Seriously, what the hell is this? It’s like, salty like nuts, but what’s the other thing?” Jay smiled at him. “It’s called chocolate, and I can get you more at dinner if you want.” Carlos nodded enthusiastically, feeling a lot less intimidated by the son of Jafar than he had before.

Jay felt good. This kid worried him, and Jay wasn’t exactly sure how to handle emotional stuff, so if chocolate was the answer, chocolate worked for him. “Well, Trickster, if you like all food that much you’re gonna love it here.” The trickster looked up at him. “You can… you can call me Carlos. Trickster’s more of a title anyways.” Huh. Carlos. “Sure thing, Carlos,” he responded, moving to lie down on his back with his arms tucked behind his head, staring at the ceiling as Carlos got up to peruse the bookshelf. Carlos was sort of a nice name, Jay thought to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long! Warning: sad feelies, also the homo is gonna intensify. School starts literally tomorrow (crying) but I'll try to keep up! I didn't expect this to get so many hits! (don't forget, kudos are my lifeblood)

The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence as Mal packed her things. She tucked a water bottle into one of her backpack’s side pockets before looking over at Evie, who was sitting at Ben’s desk, pretending to idly flip through a fashion magazine. Mal knew that in reality her friend was lost in thought, a slight frown on her face.

“Evie,” Mal started. “What’s wrong?” Evie smiled at her before returning to her magazine. “Nothing.” Mal could tell the smile was forced, so she walked over to the desk, leaning down to be eye level with Evie. “Evie, I need you to tell me what’s going on.”

Evie looked away. “It’s- it’s nothing really. I mean… I’m so happy that Ben’s alive, and that you’re going to save him and bring him back, and you two will be so happy-” she paused, clearing her throat. She could still lie, and she sort of wanted to. Her feelings were so delicate, the situation was so delicate, maybe it was best to pretend nothing had ever happened. It felt selfish to remind Mal, when she was so close to being truly happy again. But, she resolved, she didn’t want to lie to Mal. “It’s just. Um. What about…” Her voice choked on itself, and she was worried it wouldn’t come out, that she’d just stay silent.

“What about what?” Mal softly asked, looking at Evie with eyes as soft as velvet. God, thought Evie, she’s trying so hard to make this easier for me. A pit formed in her stomach as she responded. “What about us?”

The question fell out of her lips and on to the floor, Mal staring at her blankly. Evie looked away again. “It’s, never mind, it’s selfish. Forget about it.” She stood up abruptly. “Evie, wait-” Mal grabbed her arm, and Evie couldn’t help it. She kissed Mal, quickly, before rushing out of the room, throwing over her shoulder that she wouldn’t be at dinner. She began to run through the halls to her room, hoping none of the staff saw her.

Mal stood alone, frozen. She had been so distracted with planning and packing and dreaming about finding Ben, she didn’t stop to think what it would all mean for her and Evie. Their relationship had always been ambiguous, and in the past months had slipped past platonic many times, but she had been hesitant to consider the two of them lovers. She guessed, now, that it wouldn’t matter once Ben was back. Fuck. She decided that she’d try to deal with it after she saved her husband. If what Carlos said was true, Ben had to be saved sooner rather than later.

\---------------

Meanwhile, Carlos was settling into his new room. Jay had told him that dinner was at six, and it was only four o’clock, so he busied himself by looking through the books on the shelves, eventually taking nine or ten down and spreading them around his bed (which he had decided was his new favorite place ever) and looking through them one by one. Carlos had only had three books of his own back on the isle: a cookbook for breakfast foods, an adventure novel about a girl who lived in the forest, and a manual for fixing photocopiers, all beat-up leftovers of Auradon’s trash. He had read each cover to cover more times than he remembered, hiding them under a loose floorboard in the room where he slept and taking them out while Rumpelstiltskin was out making deals, or upstairs getting drunk. It wasn’t precisely that he thought his father would take the books away, though he might. It was more that the books were special to him, and he felt that if Rumpelstiltskin ever saw them, touched them, he might… dirty them, somehow. 

Carlos often thought of his father’s touch as a thing that spread rot and pain, especially on the nights when he lost his temper and littered Carlos’ arms and legs with bruises that stood out like dark purple clouds on his skin.

He hadn’t seen the books in a while, though. Not since his father had pulled him out of the house, excitedly pointing at… what looked like a rip in the universe, but was really a hole in the barrier, peeking out to show a bluer sky, a brighter sun. His father had snapped and the two had been transported to a deep forest, draining much of the magical energy the trickster hadn’t used in the years before.

Carlos nudged the memories to the back of his head, looking through a book of classic stories. the histories of Auradon’s famous families. He got bored pretty quickly, noticing they’d all looked virtually the same (big stone walls, stained glass windows, stuffy old people posing in front of paintings of other stuffy old people) and decided to turn his attention elsewhere.

Suddenly, there was a scratching at the door. Jay sat up, having been lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. He laughed, “Looks like he found me!” before standing and walking to the door. He turned to Carlos. “Do you like dogs?” Carlos had never met a dog personally, but there had been one in one of his books, and it sounded pretty okay, so he nodded. Jay grinned and opened the door, letting a small scruffy dog that immediately padded over to where Carlos sat and looked at him expectantly.

“He wants to know if he can come up, though you might have to help him. He’s pretty old now,” Jay cut in, nodding at Carlos. Carlos looked down at the dog. “Uh, sure,” he replied eloquently, before reaching down and gently lifting the creature onto his bed. The dog promptly began licking his face. Carlos stared at Jay, unsure how to react. “Is this normal?” The young man laughed. “It’s good! It means he likes you.” “Oh, okay.” Carlos smiled, scratching the dog behind its ears. “His name is Dude, by the way,” Jay added. Dude settled into Carlos’ lap, deciding that it was an excellent place to nap after a long day of napping.

Jay laid back down, still smiling. Carlos realised that Jay should really be less happy about being Carlos’ servant and bodyguard. Why wasn’t he mad? In the few hours they’d known each other, Jay had been nothing but kind.

“Don’t you want to know what being my servant entails?” Carlos asked. Jay looked over at him, a glint in his eyes, before turning back to the ceiling. “Lay it on me.” Shit, what did it entail? Carlos wasn’t very messy, his life before today didn’t allow being messy without a cuff to the ear for “ungratefulness”, the hypocrisy being that his father made him live in a hovel. He really just needed someone to stay near him in case Rumpelstiltskin turned up. And it was nice to have someone to talk to, since Ben had stopped talking. The king had maybe been his first friend, but there was no use in talking to something that simply growled back at you.

“Well, you have to be around me at all times,” Carlos started. He paused to think, was there nothing else he wanted? “Uh- I’ll give the rest of the orders when I need you to know them.” “You got it, bro.” And that was the end of it.

\----------------

At dinner, Jay was surprised not to see Evie sitting by Mal, he asked Mal if she knew where the young Royal Advisor was, and she shook her head no, but Jay could see she was hiding something. He didn’t push it.

“So,” asked Mal, “What exactly do you know, Trickster?” She saw the boy think for a moment, deciding where to start. “Well,” he said, “The King is in the Enchanted forest, to start.” Mal frowned. “We already looked there.” 

“I know,” Carlos responded. He remembered. “The person who caught him glamoured the place. It’s about fifteen miles in, and it looks like a big tree, but that’s the glamour. If you walk into it, you can see it’s a house. It’s, uh,” he paused, trying to think of the landmarks near it. “It’s about ten miles from a tavern, then over a river and past this really big rock.” He felt sheepish, only knowing vague directions from what he saw on his journey to the palace.

“Who’s holding him?” The Queen asked. Carlos almost didn’t want to say, his lifelong loyalty to the man he thought was his father still tripping him up, but he got it out despite it all. “Rumpelstiltskin.” The Queen nodded, before asking, “How did he escape the Isle of the Lost?” “He got out when the barrier was broken five years ago. He somehow stored potential magical energy inside himself during his captivity, and used most of it to transport himself,” responded Carlos, making sure to sound impartial.

He wasn’t sure whether or not to mention the evil woman, but decided the Queen would probably want to know. “There is also, um, a woman there.” He saw an urgent interest spark in the Queen’s eyes. “Do you know her name?” she inquired insistently, leaning forward over her plate. Carlos looked away unsure how to break the news. Part of the reason he was intimidated by the Queen was her association with the woman, but anything she could do to him would be nothing compared to the sheer horror he felt from standing too close to the enchantress living with his father. The hatred and lack of humanity she emanated made Carlos feel the need to keep a good distance at all times. But, maybe the Queen didn’t know her mother was out and about, and certainly she didn’t know of the woman’s involvement with her husband.

“Maleficent. She’s called Maleficent.” To Carlos’ surprise. the Queen was not shocked. She seemed… relieved, but at the same time angry. She abruptly stood and left the room, saying she needed to pack a few more things.

Jay looked to a confused Carlos. “Maleficent escaped a few years ago, but we kept it quiet so as not to panic the public. Mal- the Queen- has been looking for leads to find her ever since, and we know she’s somewhere in Auradon since only people with access to the bridge can get to the Isle,” he noticed Carlos still looked confused, so he continued, “The bridge is activated by a button that only the royal chauffeur has access to. But anyway, Mal hasn’t had any information on her mother’s whereabouts since the escape, so this is good. But, then again, if Maleficent has Ben captive… I can’t even imagine.”

This could be even worse than before, Jay thought. Ben had been his best friend, having elected to be his roommate senior year and having stuck around ever since. He had known Maleficent most of his life before coming to Auradon, and she had never been kind, but there was no doubt that she was filled with spite and vengeful rage after Mal defeated her. If she was taking that out on Ben, who Jay knew to be quiet and kind and not really a fighter, there was no doubt that the King was in serious danger.

Jay looked over to Carlos, who had begun wolfing down the meal laid out in front of him. “Want my portion?” he asked, not feeling particularly hungry. Carlos nodded enthusiastically. It occurred to Jay that he hadn’t yet made good on his promise to get Carlos more of those peanut butter cups. He promised to be back in a moment before wandering off to find more candy.

He assured himself that if anyone could save Ben, it was Mal.

\----------------

Carlos lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. It sort of felt as if in one day his life had completely changed, and of course he wasn’t complaining. Before he had nowhere to go, stuck in the old shack with his angry father, and now he had a room, a bed, food to eat, and- well, Jay wasn’t his friend, they’d only just met, but he certainly could be.

Speak of the devil, Jay had just gotten out of the shower. He stepped out of the small bathroom adjoined to their room, a towel wrapped around his waist. “Hey, Carlos, I have morning watch tomorrow. Basically I just have to watch the castle grounds for a few hours, but I’ll be careful not to wake you up and I’ll be back around nine. Okay?” Carlos looked over to respond.

Fuck. Bad idea. Good idea? Jay was leaning on the doorframe, water pooling in droplets on his tan shoulders, which were flushed slightly. Carlos tried not to stare, but his eyes betrayed him, following a drop of water as it grew heavy and began running down Jay's chest, down his hips and under the towel- woah, okay, look away. But. Carlos hadn’t met a lot of people, sure, but before him was literally the most perfectly sculpted human being he had ever seen.

He turned his head back to the ceiling. Right, he hadn’t responded. “Sure.” He turned to face the wall as Jay changed for bed, face red. Inwardly, he was cringing. What the fuck? What was he feeling, and was it normal for his heart to start pounding out of nowhere like that? He decided to ignore it, and ignore the fact that he had to sleep in the same room as Jay, because if he thought about any of that too much he had a feeling there would be more issues than just hiding from his dad and the Queen finding out who he was.

His plan had not included very beautiful people sharing rooms with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY, I TOO SHIP MALVIE AND I'M GONNA TRY TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE'S OK IN THE END BUT IN THE MEANTIME ENJOY SOME FLUSTERED CARLOS (IMSOSORRY)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: binder things??
> 
> Sorry I've been away! I'll try to keep updating my baby here. This chapter is just Jay and Carlos, and I took in the opportunity to slip in some headcanons I'm VERY passionate about.

As they got ready for bed, Carlos was… unsure how to proceed. Jay seemed comfortable, pulling off his shirt and pants and stepping into some comfortable-looking blue flannel sleep pants. He was still shirtless because the universe wanted Carlos to feel awkward, apparently. Carlos flushed when he realised he didn’t have any other clothes. Jay turned around, assessing Carlos’ body language. “You need some pajamas? You can borrow mine, but they’ll be big on you.” Carlos nodded.

Jay rummaged through his drawers, pulling out another pair of flannel pants and one of his old tourney jerseys he’d grown out of but kept for sentimental value. They’d still dwarf the rather petite boy, but it was better than the grungy clothes Carlos had now. Carlos accepted the clothes without meeting his eyes, before turning away to take his shirt off. Jay glanced over a moment later and-

Shit. That was not something he prepared for. Jay’s mind catalogued two new facts about Carlos: one, he had scars on his shoulders and bruises on his back and two: he had wrapped his chest on strips of cloth, binding it tightly. The fabric bit into his skin and seemed to rub uncomfortably. Jay considered the actions he could take and decided that while he didn’t want to press on the injuries, something could absolutely be done about the painful-looking binder.

Jay cleared his throat. “Carlos…” Carlos turned around, crossing his arms defensively around his chest but attempting to look nonchalant. “Yeah?” Jay smiled. “I think I’m going to talk to the palace tailor tomorrow about getting some clothes made for you. And a binder, if that’s cool.” A what? “Um- what is a binder exactly?” Jay stepped closer. “It’s like this cloth stuff you have now, but it won’t hurt to wear and it'll look better. Is that okay?”

The boy nodded, and Jay’s stomach felt weird. He was a little worried, because the makeshift binder Carlos had on at the moment had to be hurting him, and Jay had learned a thing or two in life about helping others after leaving the Isle. He wanted Carlos to feel comfortable in Auradon, because he knew what it was like to feel unwelcome. “Do you need any help taking that off?” He found himself asking. Carlos nodded again. “Yeah, the two ends are knotted in the back.” He turned around and Jay located the knot, untying it.

Carlos winced while Jay unwound the fabric, having had it on for a few days. Jay also winced as he uncovered more and more raw, irritated skin under the binding. When he was done, he bunched the strips up and tossed it in the garbage. “I can swing by and grab a binder from Chad in a minute. It’ll be kind of loose but I don’t want you to be more injured, so I hope that’s okay for a few days. And, um- if you have, like, questions or whatever, or want to talk about stuff, talk to Evie maybe? She gets it. I can talk too, though I don't know as much.” He didn't often get sappy, but Carlos seemed to need it.

Warmth bloomed in Carlos’ chest. He’d never really felt…. accepted, he guessed. He’d tried to not make it a large part of his life, and instead just part of who he was, but his father saw his insecurity and used it against him- insulting him, shunning him at times, but at the same time often forgetting about it too, which hurt in its own way. Carlos had decided after he left that he could do what he wanted, and three days ago had cut off his hair and ripped up his spare shirt into strips, and that was that. He’d sort of forgotten about it until Jay said anything, he felt like he was simply himself… but a binder sounded much better than what he had now, which rubbed at his skin and hurt his ribs, and Jay honestly didn’t have to be so helpful. It was… really nice.

He remembered he was still standing, shirtless, with his back turned to Jay and hurriedly pulled the jersey on over his head. “Sorry, spaced out for a second. Thank you, I will talk to Evie.” He turned to face Jay. “And just for the record, I’m a guy. Carlos. Carlos the guy.” Jay laughed. “I sort of guessed.” He looked at Carlos wearing his jersey, grinning. “The jersey suits you. You know, you would’ve been awesome on my old team. Coach would love you, I’ll have to bring you next time I visit the school.” Carlos didn’t exactly know what Jay was talking about, but it sounded interesting, so he smiled and agreed while a voice in his head whispered, 'he thinks you're cute in his jersey.' Possibly magical intuition had its perks, and Carlos blushed and smiled to himself.

When he climbed into bed as Jay left to get him a binder, Carlos resolved that he had had the strangest and most eventful day of his life, but at the same time possibly the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BAM. TRANS CARLOS. And Evie and Chad while we're at it because I said so. I just care about this a lot. *streamers and glitter fly everywhere* TRANS REPRESENTATION!


	5. Chapter 5

Carlos was woken up by yelling. He sat up lightning quick, ready to get out, finding the closest exit- oh. The doorway was occupied by a tall, smiling girl with long blue hair- Evie?- who was enthusiastically greeting him, him and--- and Jay. 

 

Carlos turned to look at the occupant of the bed on the other side of room, who was sleeping like a rock. Carlos heard Evie laugh musically.

 

“He’s too used to my wakeup call, but by the third one he’s usually up.” She cupped her hands around her mouth. “JAY! WE HAVE SHIT TO DO TODAY AND SLEEPING IN WON’T DELAY IT!”

 

Jay rolled over, taking in the room, Carlos, Evie. He smiled fondly at Evie. “Eloquent, as always.” He sat up, the covers sliding off his shoulders- of course, he was shirtless, because life was pain. Carlos glanced at the unfazed Evie. Apparently this was a Jay Thing. Wonderful. Jay pushed the covers aside and got up to grab fresh clothes, and to Carlos’ relief he was wearing pants. Evie turned to Carlos. 

 

“Okay, so, today we’re- well, we’re going to the Isle of the lost, because we need to see if anyone there has been corresponding with Maleficent. You know, in on the plan.” 

 

Carlos had a feeling his face had blanched significantly because Evie’s eyes widened and she continued, “Hey, don’t worry, it’s not as scary as people say, and Jay’s super tough so nobody’s gonna get near you, but we really think you should come. You kind of know the most about what’s happening.” 

 

_ You don’t understand, _ thought Carlos,  _ it’s not that I don’t want to go, it’s that I don’t want to go back. _ If anyone recognized him, the whole situation could get really, really messy.

 

Carlos nodded, trying not give give away any of his internal monologue. “Sounds, uh, sounds good.” Then again, he looked pretty different from his days on the isle. Maybe it would be enough. Evie grinned wider. Jay, having changed in the bathroom, walked over to the two of them. He looked good in a red t-shirt, not that Carlos looked. 

 

“Oh, Evie-” Jay looked to Carlos- “is it okay if I tell her?” Carlos nodded again, getting out of bed (he realised he didn’t have any clean clothes but his dirty jeans would be fine).

 

“Okay. Evie, Carlos is trans and I told him he could talk to you about it, since he’s pretty new to it all.” If Evie wasn’t glowing before, she resembled a small sun looking at Carlos. “Of course! Hey, welcome to the club, kiddo!” She looked back at Jay. “But I thought his name was Trickster?”

 

Carlos smiled sheepishly. “More of a title, really.”

 

Evie laughed again. “Excellent!” Then she noticed Carlos grabbing his grubby clothes off the floor. She reached out, touched his arm gently, and said with a surprisingly serious conviction, “Sweetie, I am not letting you wear those. They look like ground zero for a new species of cockroach.”

 

Carlos looked at her, confused. She sized him up before concluding, “You’re not much smaller than Doug. I’ll be right back.” She abruptly turned away and speedwalked out of the room, off to who-knows-where. 

 

Carlos looked to Jay, who shook his head and smiled back. “She’s normally really chill, she just gets really hyper when she meets new friends. She’s great, though.” Carlos nodded, beginning to feel like a bobblehead. “Um,” he said, gracefully initiating conversation like the socialite he was, “So, how about the Isle? Aren’t your- aren’t your parents there?”

 

Jay smiled, but his smile seemed a little more forced.  _ Sad, a little angry,  _ said Carlos’ intuition. “Yeah, but they aren’t really our parents. Evie and Mal are my family. And, uh, and Ben. My dad… He doesn’t really qualify, you know?”  _ Yes,  _ Carlos thought. He shrugged. “Are you nervous to go back?” Jay thought for a moment. “I’ve been once or twice since moving here. I know what’s coming. It’s not easy, but I know what I’m getting into, and I want to help.” That was- that was really cool of Jay. Carlos began to say so, but just then-

 

“I have returned!” Evie strode into the room with an armful of clothes. Clothes for Carlos. His cheeks warmed a little, thinking about the fact that somebody liked him enough to get him clothes five minutes after meeting him. Evie spread the options out on the bed and Carlos looked through them. He picked out a grey shirt and black pants. Evie moved to pick up his old clothes when he stopped her.

 

“Can I keep the jacket? It’s not that dirty, and it’s important to me.”

 

She smiled, empathetically like she completely understood. Maybe she did. Then she seemed to remember something, digging through the pile of clothes and pulling out what looked like a red tank top. “You’ll want this,” she said, handing it to him. “What is it?” Carlos asked. 

 

She did the glowing-like-the-sun thing again. “It’s one of Chad’s binders. Just put it on under your shirt, you’ll see.

 

Having showered (there were too many fucking soaps and he got confused, but he felt cleaner than he’d ever felt in his life) and changed into his new clothes in the bathroom, he looked into the mirror. He hadn’t seen his reflection in quite some time. His hair didn’t look nearly as bad as he’d worried it did after chopping it off. It looked kind of cool, actually. Stark white as usual. He was a little taller, he had more freckles from walking in the sun- most importantly, he realised, he looked like a  _ boy _ .

 

He stared at his reflection’s chest, grinning. He did see.

 

When he walked out of the bathroom, Jay and Evie were talking quietly. Evie seemed kind of upset about something. Jay was rubbing her arm comfortingly. Evie noticed him, brightening and giving him a thumbs up. Jay smiled and wolf whistled.

 

It felt… weird. Good weird. To be accepted by these almost-strangers.

 

Evie clapped her hands. “Well!” She exclaimed. “Off to visit the worst place ever!”

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

When it looked like they were about to drive off the edge of a cliff, Carlos shrieked and grabbed Jay’s arm. Jay and Evie started cackling as Carlos realised he wasn’t going to die. He let go of Jay’s arm, blushing furiously. Jay patted his shoulder, still laughing.

 

“Hey, hey, it’s fine! I did the same thing the first time I took the trip. Don’t worry.” 

 

It seemed to help.

 

When they arrived at the end of the golden bridge, Carlos sucked in a breath as the limousine began winding through familiar streets. People began to crowd the car. 

 

“We got all of the kids out of here,” Evie explained to Carlos. “These people are here for a reason. Stick with us.”

 

The limousine pulled in front of Maleficent’s dilapidated castle. Ah, memories.“As far as we know,” Jay said to Carlos, “Maleficent’s friends still hang out here.” He opened the door and got out of the limo, holding the door for Carlos and Evie. Once Evie got out, she moved closer to Jay, grabbing his arm and looking into his eyes.

 

“I don’t know if I’m ready.”

 

“Me neither. It’s okay, if it goes wrong, we can leave. We just need to find out if they know anything, and then we can be out of here.”

 

“She still thinks-”

 

“I know… I just, I’m a little bit- he-”

 

“I know.”

 

Christ, his knees were shaking, he’d thought he was ready. Well, they were here. He gave Evie a quick hug before turning to Carlos. “Ready?” He asked. Carlos nodded. He wasn’t much of a talker, Jay supposed.

 

Together, they all walked to the doors of the castle. They were unlocked. Jay turned the handle, and the door creaked open.

 

“EVIE!” Immediately a woman who had been sitting on the couch recognized her daughter and rushed over. The Evil Queen wrapped the very uncomfortable Evie in a hug before pulling back and holding Evie’s face in her hands, appraising her. “Oh, Evie, you’ve grown! You’re so tall, that’s no good… You’re barely wearing makeup! Have you even shaved? Evie, how can you get a prince and get me out of here and into a castle if you can’t even pass as a-”

 

Evie stepped away. Composing her face into a serious and formal expression. “We’re here on business. You will comply or there will be consequences. And don’t touch me.” 

 

The Evil Queen was taken aback, her face changing to one of annoyance. “Fine. Look like a man if you want, I don’t care.”

 

Evie said nothing, but she glanced over to Jay with slightly wider eyes. Jay took it as a sign to step in. “Okay, we’re going to ask you a few questions,” he said, stepping in front of Evie and using all of his six feet and four inches to say  _ back off or else _ . “Do you know anything about-”

 

“Well, look who came back.”

 

Jay’s blood froze. He turned to his father, who was at the foot of the stairs.

 

“Hello there, Jay.” He said, a voice like a snake. “The Royal Guard? Really?” He sneered at Jay’s blue jacket. “Gone soft?”

 

Jay looked at the ground. He’d thought he was ready for this. “Shut up.”

 

His father laughed, but it wasn’t a laugh. It was how he’d laughed before he’d shoved Jay into a shelf in his store, in front of his friends after coming home without any good loot when he was thirteen. “Disgusting. You used to make me proud.”

 

Jay still couldn’t meet his eyes. His father slithered closer, a few feet away now. “I-I never made you proud.” Jay learned this after his first visit back, after they’d defeated Maleficent, when his father had broken his nose.

 

His father didn’t like that comment. “Insolent little-” He stepped forward and raised his hand-

 

_ HELL NO _ , Carlos thought, and Carlos was suddenly running forward, punching Jafar in the nose. What? He panicked. 

 

Jafar stumbled back. “You little shit!” Jay just looked at Carlos, stunned. 

 

The Evil Queen hadn’t noticed Carlos before, but now she saw him and gasped. “You look just like-” And then the assembled group heard the clacking of heels down the staircase, and Carlos remembered.

 

Rumpelstiltskin had said his mother was on the Isle. Friends with Maleficent and Jafar and the Evil Queen.

 

Cruella De Vil took rushed down the stairs, always wanting to witness drama. “What’s going-” she started to demand, before seeing the young adults gathered in what was these days considered her living room. She glanced over Jay and Evie, zeroing in on Carlos.

 

“Well!” She exclaimed. “I wondered if you’d ever try to find me. Unfortunately I still hate you and I already have Baby here,” she gestured towards a stuffed dog draped on her shoulders-  _ what the hell- _ “and so you can leave.”

 

Silence. “... Cruella,” The Evil Queen started, “is this-”

  
“The baby I traded with Rumpelstiltskin? Yes, of course, though I was hoping it had died by now.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short, painful chapter. I am so so sorry

Carlos wasn’t really paying attention for the next few minutes, but he sort of remember’s Evie’s face- Jay pulling his arm- someone yelling. What he did remember is Cruella after she finished talking. She looked at him, thoroughly disinterested, said “Well, at least you’re not as ugly as I thought you’d be,” and walked back up the stairs. Nothing else, no comment about feeling guilty or wondering what kind of a person he was- nothing.

 

In the week or so since learning he had an actual mother, and who she was, he had daydreamed a few times about what she might be like- maybe she thought about him sometimes, maybe she missed him, maybe she liked the same things he did (after all, being a villain didn’t mean being a fully bad person, right?). He hadn’t expected her to not care. It… stung. It was hard to describe.

 

Jay sat in the car on the way home silently. Carlos barely even looked like he was there, staring at nothing with a blank expression. Evie kept opening her mouth, obviously confused, maybe concerned- but didn’t say anything.

 

Jay was confused and a little upset to say the least. He had been reeling from his father and a little shocked about Carlos saving him when Cruella made her entrance, but-

 

Her  _ son? _

 

Why would Carlos not say anything? That, to Jay, seemed like pretty important information to withhold. The anger hadn’t set in yet but Jay was a little hurt that Carlos wouldn’t tell him. Of course, it would look suspicious…

 

_ Very _ suspicious.

 

What else wasn’t Carlos telling him?

 

The anger was beginning to set in, just a little.

 

Carlos got out of the car, still a little dazed. In all honesty he wanted to go up to his room, maybe sit and read with that dog. Or sleep

 

“Carlos.”

 

He turned to see what Jay wanted, only to see anger on the man’s face. Jay stepped closer, his fists clenched and gritting his teeth.

 

“What’s really going on? Why are you lying?” The words were calm enough, but Carlos had lived with his father long enough to recognize barely concealed rage.

 

_ Oh, fuck. _ He hadn’t really considered how his new friends finding out about his mother might play out. Well, he had the day before- he remembered thinking they’d probably kill him.

 

Jay continued. “I mean, that’s pretty secretive- and I sort of trusted you considering  _ my best friend’s life kind of hangs in the balance- _ ”

 

Carlos had forgotten amongst all the things that had happened that he was still a stranger to these people’s lives. They had no reason to trust him but they did, and this definitely looked like he was messing with them. Jay was angry, but Carlos’ sense was telling him  _ hurt  _ and Evie’s distress was apparent as she stepped out of the car. He was trying to consider the situation rationally- but then--

 

Jay was upset. He admitted he was snapping a little, but it was fair.

 

“What,” he started, “is your  _ fucking _ game?” He stepped forward--

 

And Carlos’ mind took it’s shortcut, the one it had made over years of Rumpelstiltskin--

 

_ (Run, run, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD RUN) _

 

And Carlos ran, into the castle and through the halls not really knowing where he was going, but he could hear Jay calling after him and  _ he needed to run _ until he reached the great hall in the front of the palace, the opposite end of the castle and the way out.

 

As he ran down the beautiful marble staircase a part of his mind disconnected from the adrenaline, and already planning thought  _ maybe I can find a place on the outskirts of town or in the forest, just stay out of it, live to see another day, stay away from dad and the lady and these people- _

  
And then Carlos’ foot caught on the stair and he fell, for a second being filled with terror and then hitting his head on the marble and thinking nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'M SORRY IM GO NNA FIX IT


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry, I'm not dead. I'm also not heavily involved in the fandom anymore, but my queer children will get their high fantasy adventure if it does kill me. I was in a musical and a play in the last two months, but now I am free and you fucking bet you'll see more of these guys.

Jay was running down one of the longer hallways in the palace when he heard a smack. He felt his spine go cold, and ran faster.

After a few seconds he finally reached the great hall, he stopped for a moment for breath, and then he saw it.

Carlos was on the stairs, draped face down on the bottom steps, one of his feet twisted at an odd angle. Jay’s stomach twisted a little as he ran closer. He leaned down and saw a shallow gash on his forehead. Oh, oh god-

“Jay!” Evie ran into the room, making short time getting to Jay and Carlos. She gently lifted Carlos’ wrist and pressed two fingers to it, then leaned in to listen for the inhale and exhale of Carlos' breath.

“He’s breathing- That cut is bleeding a lot, but head wounds tend to look a lot worse than they are.” She noticed his ankle. “I don’t think that’s broken, but it’s gonna hurt when he wakes up. I don’t know if he’s okay to move…” She bit her lip. “I’ll go get Fairy Godmother and Jane. Stay here.” And with that, she was off.

Jay sat down next to Carlos, unsure what to do. He resolved gently running his fingers through Carlos’ hair, careful not to move his head, couldn’t hurt Carlos more than he already had.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I was just upset, I wasn’t going to hurt you. I’ll never hurt you.” He didn’t know if it made a difference but he meant it. He realised he was holding his breath, and tried to inhale and exhale evenly. In, out, in, out. Carlos would be ok. Stay positive, stay positive, stay positive.

He thought he might be sick.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Carlos opened his eyes, a woman with brown hair and a sweet face was leaning over him. She was dabbing at his forehead, but smiled at him when she saw him looking.

“Hello,” she said, in a melodic voice, “I’m Fairy Godmother. How are you feeling? You took a pretty nasty spill there.”

Carlos opened his mouth but just groaned. The throbbing in his head and his ankle hit like a brick wall. He gritted his teeth and looked up.

“Mmmf,” he grunted, before glancing around the room. It looked like his and Jay’s room, but more clean and white.

“Oh, right, this is the infirmary. Also, you twisted your ankle and banged your head, and those should feel okay in a day or two but it’ll hurt pretty bad till then- the pain meds will kick in soon. Just try to relax until that happens, and you’ll probably have to tell this one here you’re alright, he won’t listen to me.” She nodded at Jay, who Carlos observed was curled uncomfortably in a chair he was much too large for. “He only fell asleep an hour ago.”

Suddenly, the throbbing subsided a little and Carlos felt woozy. He blinked slowly but his eyes didn’t seem to want to cooperate. Fairy Godmother nodded. “Don’t fight it, resting will help you heal. Sweet dreams!” And with that the world went dark again.

\----------------------------------------------------------

When Jay woke up, Carlos was still sleeping. He sat up in the chair. “Carlos?”

Carlos’ eyes opened and he looked over to Jay.

He gave a start in his bed, trying to scramble away but his limbs too heavy.

Jay’s stomach hurt.

“Carlos, please- I’m not going to hurt you, I promise, I was upset and I overreacted. Please, I promise.”

Carlos looked at him with half-lidded eyes, and after a moment nodded. “Okay.”

“Are you alright?”

Carlos looked confused. He couldn’t seem to focus. “... I think?”

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

“About what?” Carlos was having a hard time thinking about anything that wasn’t directly in his face.

“Gosh, you’re pretty.” What? It was true. “And so nice…” He felt so fuzzy and warm. It was lovely.

Jay looked concerned. Why? Wasn’t he happy? Wasn’t the world amazing?

“The world is fine. Are you fine?” Oh, he’d said that out loud. Oops. His mouth wasn’t listening to him very well, it seemed to be doing what it wanted.

“C’mere.” Jay looked so worried. He was to pretty to be worried. And he wasn’t listening. 

“C’mere!” Honestly, he shouldn’t have to repeat himself. Jay leaned in.

Carlos craned his neck to look directly into his eyes. “I’m fine. Honestly. Don’t be upset, okay?” 

And then, because he could and it was right there, he planted a kiss on the tip of Jay’s nose. The opportunity was there, and he took it, and honestly he wouldn’t judge himself for doing it.

Jay leaned back slowly. Carlos decided he was tired and plopped back onto his pillow, closing his eyes. He heard Jay moving away. 

\--------------------------------------------------------

Jay quietly closed the door behind him so he wouldn’t startle Carlos, though that- that fucking- urgh- he deserved it. Jesus! Well, no, no he didn’t, but still. Evie approached him from seemingly nowhere, that beautiful and amazing snake, and giggled a bit at the sight of him.

“Someone’s blushing.”

He didn’t really lie to Evie these days. “Someone just got kissed on the nose by a very-high-on-pain-meds someone.”

Her face broke into a wide and sparkly grin (even without makeup on, there was always glitter on her somewhere. It seemed magical and probably was). “Excellent. Is he okay?”

“I think, other than being, as I said, high on pain meds.”

“Mm, yes, the wonders of modern medicine.”

And with that, she gently pushed past him and through the door to sit with Carlos as he napped again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's short and partially to confirm Carlos is alive but IT'S HAPPENING PEOPLE. WE'RE BACK FOR REAL NOW. I MIGHT EVEN POST SOME CHARACTER ART.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello hello! I am still posting!! I'm sorry it's another short one but summer has started so I will have plenty of time to write! Small emetophobia warning, nothing too explicit. All very emo. Anyway, the rest of this fic is for a boy named Jehan and everybody like him who deserves representation and good plotlines. I'm trying. I'm not giving up on my kids because this story deserves to be written, so expect new chapters before long!
> 
> Anyway I'll probably post art on my blog @memelordvoldemort, I'll link it when I do

Carlos awoke to find his world was, to his vague confusion, contained within the infirmary.

He heard movement at his side and turned with some effort to see Evie sitting up in the chair by his bed. She leaned towards him, a few strands of hair falling over her shoulder and into her face. There was a furrow between her eyebrows, but Carlos could tell she wasn’t angry.

“Hey, sweetie, how do you feel?”

Carlos took a moment to take stock of himself. Nothing particularly hurt, though his head smarted and he still felt woozy from meds. 

“Okay, I guess.” Evie smiled. “Good! Just so I can get the ball rolling, both because I am curious and because honesty is the best policy, what do you remember?”

Carlos tried to think back. “I remember… new clothes? And you gave me a binder.”

“Yes, that was yesterday morning. And then?”

“We went to the Isle? I think I punched someone.”

“You punched Jay’s dad in the nose. Don’t worry, he’s not mad about that, it was a good call.”

“Right, okay. I remember that. Um… I don’t know. Someone else showed up.”

“Are you sure?”

Carlos reached further into his memories, he knew something else happened- it sounded weird but he felt like his mom was there- but they didn’t know about her--

And then he remembered. He felt his stomach twist.

“Oh, oh fuck, Evie-” he felt the bile rise in his stomach-

Evie reacted quickly, sliding a nearby wastebasket to the side of Carlos’ bed as he leaned over and started retching. He hadn’t had the chance to eat, he hadn’t been awake long enough the few times he was conscious, so he mostly dry-heaved and coughed, Evie rubbing his back gently.

Finally he sat back up and Evie handed him a glass of water with worried eyes. 

“Do you remember?” He nodded.

“How do you feel?”

He put the glass down. He tried to think of what to say but felt himself choking up, heat prickling behind his eyes as his throat closed. He didn’t want to cry in front of Evie but he was crying anyway and she was there. She stood up and moved to sit on the edge of his bed and he let her, sitting up and letting her wrap him up in her arms. They sat with him quietly sobbing and her face buried in his hair for what felt like hours.

Finally, he managed to stop himself and breathe. He didn’t want to pull away, nobody had ever touched him for this long, so he stayed close to Evie. 

“I don’t know what I thought was going to happen. I mean- god, I was so stupid- I mean, she abandoned her baby, why did I think she would want to see me now? I only knew she existed like three weeks ago but I thought-” he stopped, feeling another sob bubble up in his throat. Evie was silent, he didn’t want to look up to see her face yet.

“I thought she’d want to see me. I thought maybe I could have something better.”

“Okay, wait.” Evie pulled away but put her hands on his shoulders, facing him and looking him straight in the eyes. “You can have something better. You are not a bad person, Carlos. Yes, you lied, but we all have secrets. You probably didn’t do it to hurt us, right?”

Carlos nodded.

“Furthermore, Cruella De Vil is a very, very bad person. I don’t know what conditions you grew up with but living with her is something I’m very grateful you didn’t experience- she is a violent, cruel, person, and she deserves to be on that island. The only thing I blame her for is taking away your opportunity to be with us. I mean, we could have grown up together. I would have given anything to know somebody like you on the Isle, Carlos.”

That- that felt really nice to know. Carlos leaned into her again, and she put her arm around his shoulders.

“Evie… I’m sorry I lied. You all deserve to know the truth.”

Evie nodded. “We should meet with Jay and a few other people tomorrow, you can tell them everything. By the way, do you remember anything after that? You woke up once or twice.”

“I… remember everything before I tripped… and I think there was a lady in here, but nothing else- but, Evie, I want to tell you all of this first.”

“Then tell me.”

And over the next few hours, Carlos told Evie everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it!!! it's gonna get very adveture-y in the next chapters (Time to save the heterosexuals (Mal(who is really more heteroflexible/questioning) and Ben (bless and protect him he is pure and smol))!!!)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey so I'm back!!! I went to writing camp and it was great, and also I'm doing a lot of art stuff, so I apologize for not updating but I'm back!!!! Here's some actual plot forwarding! also at the end I'll be posting some amazing art from the amazing @atfiveintheafternoon on tumblr, sliiiiiiight warning for binder stuff but if you've gotten this far hopefully that doesnt upset you a lot?? Also fun news! I'm agender! So that's cool, and you can call me Bean and they/she! Example: "I love Bean and her fic, they are an amazing author and a beautiful ethereal deity!" (kidding)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway yeah! Sorry for the cliffhanger, and fun fact: I've been writing this for a year! The document on my computer is 57 pages long. I'm a very different person, I'm not even super in the Descendants fandom anymore, but I still love these kids and this story. Good times. I hope to finish this by Christmas but we'll see.

“I don’t remember much of being little, but my first memory is my dad- Rumpelstiltskin- being passed out, and me being hungry. Which is kind of a good summary of what being little was like. It wasn’t fun.

I don’t know where we lived, I didn’t go outside much. I did a few times, for the trash barge. I went on after everyone big had left so I could look through the garbage- remember that? Everyone was so excited when they saw the boat come in. How fucked up is that? But, um, I found some old books. Some little machine bits. That was nice.

I kind of had a cat, too? Beelzebub. I left my window open and she’d come in. I don’t know where she is now, but my dad never knew about her. Or the books. Or anything.  
He was out of it a lot when we lived on the Isle, I think he was angry and sad because he really, really loves having his magic. After we left the Isle he got a lot better- kind of, I mean. It wasn’t amazing but about a month after we got to Auradon- oh, we got out when there was a hole in the barrier, but I’ve kind of figured out that whole story now- but about a month after we got to Auradon the lady- Maleficent- turned up. I didn’t know it was her, she was this little black lizard, but he did something to her and she turned into a lady. She was horrible. And after that they had some kind of messed up thing- and they did stuff to animals--

Um. They would mix up potions and things and give them to animals, and it hurt them. I didn’t watch that, but he made me mix stuff sometimes. And he kind of… imparted some stuff on me? Like if you ever feel something really strongly I can sense it. It’s kind of creepy, I’m sorry, but I don’t really know how to turn it off. He was teaching me to be his apprentice, I think.

But a year ago Maleficent disappeared for a few days and came back with King Ben. He was unconscious, I kind of thought he was dead. I didn’t know who he was. But they put him in this big pit behind the shack, where we kept animals, and after a little bit he woke up. He kept asking me to get him out, but I was scared. Rumpelstiltskin is a violent person. Especially when he drinks. But Ben stopped asking me after a while and he would just kind of talk to me about stuff, like about when he was a kid and about Mal and you and Jay, and when I first got here I didn’t really make the connection. They were like bedtime stories. But he didn’t talk about you all much, and I get that. He didn’t want you to exist in that world.

A few months ago Maleficent gave him something and he stopped talking. He didn’t change a lot but his eyes are different- he doesn’t act human. He acts like a monster. He just looks angry and hungry all the time. I got scared, I didn’t want to live in the house with all that. I felt bad, and I just wanted to leave but I didn’t feel like I could. But a few days ago my dad told me I wasn’t actually his son, and who my mom was, and it just kind of felt like the sign to go. So here I am.”

The room was silent for a moment.

“Well, shit, man.”

“Yep.”

Evie sat back in the chair, having been sitting on the edge of her seat. She let out a breath, slowly.

“Carlos, I’m sorry. I’m not going to sugarcoat this, so I want you to know I’m sorry and that sucks, and I will make sure that you are happy and safe here when this is all over.”

Carlos slumped into his pillows, having been tense the whole time.

“Thank you.”

“That said, Mal is out there and she really needs to know this. We need to find a way to tell her, she wasn’t prepared to find Ben and have him be acting different. That could be dangerous.”

Carlos had an idea, but hesitated. He took a deep breath, then met Evie’s eyes.

“I can show you where he is. We can go after her, she might need help.”

Evie nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

~~~~~~~~~

Mal woke up to stinging pain.

She reached behind her head to the back of her skull, feeling a swollen lump and blood matted in her hair. 

Fuck.

She had been walking through the woods, looking for any sign of a settlement or of Ben, when something had hit her and she had blacked out. She gave herself one guess as to who had attacked her. 

Mal looked around. She was in a large pit, about ten feet wide, with walls about fifteen feet high lined with wooden boards. No footholds. There was somebody curled up on the other side-- Mal started, noticing the light brown hair. It had grown longer, and it was dirty and messy. But.

She moved forward a little, on her knees. Her ankle throbbed. “...Ben?”

His eyes opened and he looked up at her. She felt a shudder go up her spine. It felt… wrong. His eyes, a comforting earthy green, were paler, silvery. His pupils were shrunken, almost slits. He sat up slowly, and she saw his shirt was shredded, his pants ripped at the cuffs and muddy. He stared at her, hunched over.

“Ben?” A deep growl came from his throat and she felt her stomach twist.

She froze as he lunged at her, then fell back with a choked noise. He whined as he clawed at a metal collar, connected to a chain about five feet long which was bolted to the wall. Even as he strained and reached as far as possible, he couldn’t reach her at all. He looked at her with hungry eyes and bared his teeth. She felt her blood run cold as she saw they were inhumanly sharp, so jagged and crooked that they didn’t fit together in his mouth so it was slightly open.

Mal leaned back against the wall and pulled her legs to her chest, holding back any tears, but fuck, she was so scared. What had they done to him?

 

(art here!! --> http://atfiveintheafternoon.tumblr.com/post/147286373578/hey-wow-some-real-fanart-its-for-this-fic-by )


End file.
